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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: July 24, 2019
A Pioneering 1915 Film on Movement Disorders in Spain: Parkinsonism, Huntington's Disease, and Paradoxical Kinesia
Íñigo Corral1, Juan Carlos Martínez Castrillo1, Kailash P Bhatia2,3
1Department of Neurology, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Background:
Soon after the advent of cinematography in 1895, neurologists began exploring its use as a permanent record of physical signs and as a teaching aid. We present the first known Spanish film on movement disorders, recorded in 1915.
Methods:
We describe and analyze the patients shown in the film within its historical context.
Results:
The first section of the film is a teaching session in which a fixed camera records the patients and the professor, surrounded by students. It presents 10 patients, including parkinsonian and catatonic patients. In the second section, a mobile camera follows two cases in more detail: a patient with probable Huntington's disease (HD), and an impressive case of paradoxical kinesia in Parkinson's disease (PD).
Conclusions:
The didactic value of the film is exceptional. It presents the first reported Spanish case of HD, and the first documented case of paradoxical kinesia in PD, 6 years before its written description in 1921. © 2026 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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